fent upon, fo they were enabled * to work miracles, (according to the account given in the hiftory) to awaken the attention of their hearers, to ftamp a divine character upon their preaching and miniftry; and thereby to bring over the people to a belief of it. I fay, that the miracles, which were wrought, were not intended to convince men that the apostles were univerfally infallible, and that therefore every opinion or propofition, which they might advance, was to be received as truth, merely upon their authority; but thofe miracles were defigned to awaken men's attention to what the apoftles were under a Special commiffion to publish to the world, and to beget in them a perfuafion of the truth of it, in order that the great end of the apoftles miffion might be answered upon them, in turning them from the evil of their ways, and thereby rendering them the proper objects of God's mercy. And,

As the particulars of this good news were few and fhort, plain and easy to be underflood, and which a man of honesty and ordinary capacity could not easily mistake; fo from hence it will follow, that the apoftles and first preachers of the gofpel could be, and were infallible, as to the grand errand they were fent upon. Indeed they fell into one great error, as to the extent of their commiffion, viz. they thought that the doctrine of repentance and remiffion of fins was to be preached to the

Jews only, and that the rest of the world were not to have this merciful and kind offer made to them. But as this was an error, in which the falvation of the Gentile world were nearly concerned, fo God would not fuffer them always to continue in it, but difcovered it to Peter (and by him to the reft) by a vifion of a fheet let down from heaven, wherein were all manner of unclean beafts, and creeping things, &c. and by requiring Peter to kill and eat them. From which St. Peter and the reft inferred, that it was God's will that the Gentiles fhould have a share and fellowship in the bleffings of the gospel. And here it is proper to be observed, that this great error in the apoftles was not corrected by divine infpiration, but it was removed by their reafoning upon the vifion, which Peter had feen. And indeed this was the very method the apoftles took in every important question, which came before them. For as they did not pretend to be poffeffed with an infallible judgment themfelves, fo they did not affume a power of determining the judgments of other men merely by their authority, but reafoned upon the fubjects, which came before them, as the moft proper way, both for themselves and others, to come at truth. Neither did God immediately interpofe, and imprefs the truths enquired after upon men's minds, and fo fuperfede the ufe of their reafoning faculties in the discovery of them; but he left them to the use and exercise,

exercife of thofe faculties for that difcovery. This is notorioufly evident in that great difpute, which arofe in the church at Antioch, viz. whether the Gentile Chriftians ought to be circumcifed, and keep the law of Mofes. Which question was not decided by divine inSpiration, nor by the authority of the apostles, but by an open and fair debate upon the fubject, and by reafoning from fuch topicks, as were proper to give light to it, and clear up the cafe; as may be feen at large, A&ts xv.

But tho' we may be affured, that the apoftles and first preachers of the gospel were infallible, and did not err with respect to the grand errand they were fent upon, because it is reasonable to fuppofe and expect, that they were well inftructed in that errand, and because the particulars of it were fo few and Short, and fo plain and easy to be underfood, as that a man of honefty and ordinary capacity could not eafily mistake them, and becaufe God would, and did interpofe to rectify any error with refpect to it: yet we have no affurance, that they were alike infallible with respect to every other point of lesser moment, and in the interpretation of every text of the Old Teftament, which they gave the fense of. For as the end and purpose of Chrift's miniftry were to point out to, and direct men in the true way to God's favour and eternal life, and not to rectify every error in theology, into which men were fallen, or were liable to fall: fo it lay upon him to

give his apoftles a true and full information of what they were to fet before the world, as the true and only grounds of divine acceptance, and to correct every error, which they might fall into with refpect to it; (because he appointed them to publifh to the world, what was appointed to him by his Father) and not to inftruct them in every queftion, or rectify every error of less moment, which they might fall into, and in which the great end and purpose of his miniftry were concerned. And accordingly Chrift gave his apoftles * verbally full inftructions in the grand errand he sent them upon. And as they misunderstood their commiffion with refpect to the extent of it, fo that error was rectified to Peter, as I obferved above. But in all thofe points of lef fer moment, in which the apostles received their informations in the fame way with other men, they were alike liable to error with refpect to them. And therefore in such cases their judgments ought not abfolutely to be relied upon, but are to be tried, and judged of in the fame way, in which we try and judge of the opinions of other men. The apostles were bred Jews, and as fuch their judgments were liable to be byaffed in favour of those opinions, they were educated in. And accordingly we find St. Peter, feveral years after he was called to the apoftolick office, thought that the diftinction of meats clean and unclean, which the law of Mofes had made,

* Matthew xxviii. 19, 20.

was.

was not taken away, and which (if I mistake not) was an error. Acts viii. 13, 14. And there came a voice to him, faying, arife Peter, kill, and eat. But Peter anfwered and faid, not fo, Lord, for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean. And not only St. Peter, but all the apoftles, and all other chriftians at that time were in an error, with respect to the admiffion of the Gentiles into the church of Chrift, and confequently had a misunderstanding of all those texts of the Old Testament, in which the election and calling of the Gentiles were foretold, as I obferved above. Here we fee it was evident in fact, not only that the apoftles could, but that they did err. And if they erred in one point, they were liable to err with respect to other points, at least we have no affurance that they were not. And therefore, as I faid before, tho' we may be affured that the apoftles were infallible, and did not err with respect to the grand errand they were fent upon, yet we have no affurance that they were alike infallible in every other point of leffer moment, but are rather certain of the contrary. And,

That the apoftles did not pretend to an infallible judgment in all points, and that the people at that time did not fuppofe that to be the cafe, is notorioufly evident from that grand difpute, I have already referred to Acts xv. which because it is very much to my prefent purpose, I fhall repeat what I have

elfe